PhD Researcher: Savannah Brown (Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Whātua ki Kaipara, Ngāti Wai) (UoA).
Primary supervisors: Professor Deidre Brown (UoA)
Project summary:
Savannah’s research aims to compile mātauranga of whare tikanga (Māori building practises) to understand the processes and practices involved in customary whare Māori (Māori buildings) construction. From a foundation of whare tikanga (Māori building practises) knowledge, comparisons and critique can be made with the Government imposed building legislation in New Zealand, revealing repercussions on whare Māori. The main objective for this research is to determine the validity of imposed building legislation on whare Māori (Māori buildings) and if they are necessary and applicable today. The outcome of this research is to determine if a Māori consenting authority is in demand/viable by Māori for Māori and what this could look like.